Renewing the World…
- ninoxmitwpu
- Feb 23, 2022
- 7 min read
Energy demand in the world is nowadays growing further out of limits of installable generation capacity. Therefore, future energy demands should be met and improved efficiently and securely. Energy solutions should be supported by utilizing renewable energy sources. At present, the contribution of renewable energy to the world primary energy is not high to meet the primary energy and electricity supplies. Both developed and developing nations will necessarily continue to rely on fossil fuels in the coming decades. It is expected that the reserves of fossil fuels will naturally come to an end. Thus, alternative and renewable energies will be the most significant energy resources soon. Keeping this in mind many countries have taken extraordinary measures to meet the nation’s energy demand through clean and renewable sources. The five countries that we like to emphasize are Sweden, China, the USA, India, and Denmark.
Sweden, the largest country in Northern Europe, is known for a variety of things, including its beautiful scenery, historical monuments, cuisine, and liberal culture. Remarkably is the environmental consciousness that runs through most of its citizens and residents. The clean streets and green spaces speak volumes about how well the Swedish understand the value of natural resources, as evidenced by their widespread use of renewable energy. Already in 2012, the country reached the government’s 2020 target of 50 percent. For the power sector, the target is 100 percent renewable electricity production by 2040. According to the world economic forum, 54% of Sweden’s power comes from renewables (as of September 2020). This energy is also surprisingly locally sourced. Sweden is a global leader in building a low-carbon economy, with the lowest share of fossil fuels in its primary energy supply among all IEA member countries, and the second-lowest carbon-intensive economy. 54% of Sweden’s power comes from renewables and is helped by its geography. With plenty of moving water and 63% forest cover, it’s no surprise the two largest renewable power sources are hydropower and biomass. And that biomass is helping support a local energy boom. Heating is a key use of energy in a cold country like Sweden. In recent decades, as fuel oil taxes have increased, the country’s power companies have turned to renewables, like biomass, to fuel local ‘district heating’ plants. But Sweden doesn’t stop at village-level heating solutions. As well as targeting 100% renewable electricity production by 2040, the country is transforming homes into highly efficient ‘prosumers’ — buildings that both produce and consume the vast majority of their energy. Its new breed of energy generation takes hyper-local to the next level. One example is in the city of Ludvika where 1970s flats have recently been retrofitted with the latest smart energy technology. 48 family apartments spread across 3 buildings have been given photovoltaic solar panels, thermal energy storage, and heat pump systems. A micro energy grid connects it all and helps charge electric cars overnight. The result is a cluster of ‘prosumer’ buildings, producing rather than consuming enough power for 77% of residents’ needs. With high levels of smart meter usage, it’s a model that looks set to spread across Sweden. Sweden has smartly mobilized its resources and geography to create a sustainable energy grid, which not only meets the civilization’s demand but also provides multidimensional support to the country. Sweden has readily adopted newer technologies, making it the leading renewable energy producer in the European Union.
Let us look into the case of Denmark, A project to build a giant island providing enough energy for three million households has been given the green light by Denmark’s politicians. The world’s first energy island will be as big as 18 football pitches (120,000sq m), but there are hopes to make it three times that size. It will serve as a hub for 200 giant offshore wind turbines. It is the biggest construction project in Danish history, costing an estimated 210bn kroner (£24bn; €28bn: $34bn). Situated 80km (50 miles) out to sea, the artificial island would be at least half-owned by the state but partly by the private sector. It will not just supply electricity for Danes but for other, neighboring countries’ electricity grids too. Although those countries have not yet been detailed, Prof Jacob Ostgaard of the Technical University of Denmark told the BBC that the UK could benefit, as well as Germany or the Netherlands. Green hydrogen would also be provided for use in shipping, aviation, industry, and heavy transport. Under Denmark’s Climate Act, the country has committed to an ambitious 70% reduction in 1990 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and to become CO2 neutral by 2050. Last December it announced it was ending all new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.
In global energy rankings, one country stands out. China is the world’s hungriest consumer of energy worldwide — demanding the energetic equivalent of almost 3.3 billion tonnes of oil last year. Since 2011, it has burnt more coal than all other countries combined. And its reliance on this fossil fuel adds up: China emits around one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gases, the largest share of any country. But these figures are only part of the story: China is also the world’s most prolific producer of wind energy, with the capacity to make more than twice as much as the second-largest generator, the United States. And it has about one-third of the world’s solar-generation capacity, building more systems last year than any other country.
In China, the government’s budget allocates 5.95 billion yuan ($905.7 million) toward renewable energy, with 3.38 billion yuan for solar energy and 2.31 billion yuan for wind energy. Out of these methods, solar power spending focuses explicitly on poverty alleviation and reduction to counter imbalanced regional development. By the end of 2019, the country had a total capacity of 790GW of renewable power, mainly from hydroelectric, solar, and wind power. By the end of 2019, China’s hydropower capacity reached 356 GW. China’s installed capacity of solar power reached 252 GW and wind power capacity was 282 GW, as of 2020. Even though these figures seem staggering, the net percentage they contribute to the total energy demand is not sufficient. China has pledged carbon neutrality by 2060, which seems way into the future but can also be justified by its colossal energy demand which will keep on increasing every year.
On the other hand, China’s arch-nemesis is also doing pretty good in terms of keeping it clean, USA’s domestic production of renewable energy (i.e., biofuels, biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) reached an all-time high in the first six months of this year. The latest issue of EIA’s “Monthly Energy Review” report (with data through June 30, 2021) reveals that renewable sources accounted for 12.91% of the US energy produced (and 12.71% of the energy consumed) for electricity, transportation, heating, and other uses. Renewable energy production during the first half of 2021 was 6.160 quadrillion Btu (quads) — 3.03% more than during the same period last year and 4.23% higher than in 2019. A sharp drop in hydropower (down 12.59%) and smaller declines in geothermal (down 2.83%), and biomass (down 0.53%) were more than offset by growth in solar energy (up 24.02%), wind (up 9.96%), and biofuels (up 6.46%). The wind is now the largest single renewable energy source, accounting for 27.78% of total US renewable energy output, followed by biomass (21.28%), hydropower (19.84%), biofuels (17.11%), solar (12.32%), and geothermal (1.67%). By comparison, production by the nation’s nuclear power plants in 2021 dropped by 2.81% and 4.07% compared to 2020 and 2019 levels. As a consequence, energy provided by renewable sources thus far in 2021 exceeded nuclear generation by more than 50% (6.160 quads vs. 4.007 quads). Meanwhile, the energy supplied by the mix of fossil fuels — 37.550 quads — also declined by 1.67% and 5.57% respectively but still accounted for 78.69% of total domestic production and 78.83% of US energy consumption. Fossil fuel consumption during the first half of 2021 increased by 6.50% compared to the same period in 2020 (including a 28.73% increase in coal) and is the primary reason why carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy use also rose by 7.72%.
India’s renewable energy sector survived and thrived in a turbulent 2020. Record-low solar tariffs and flexible clean power auctions pushed India’s renewable energy growth amid pandemic impacts. Last March, the Indian government implemented one of the most stringent coronavirus lockdowns in the world. With just a few hours’ notice, all 1.3 billion people in the country were ordered to stay at home for several weeks. Ongoing restrictions to limit the spread of the virus crippled economic activity. Businesses closed. Workers fled from cities. And India’s clean energy transition was put on pause. Looking back, however, 2020 proved to be a decisive year for clean energy in India. Bids for new solar projects hit record lows last year, affirming that coal is no longer the cheapest source of electricity. The country awarded landmark supply contracts for flexible renewable power, an important step in addressing the limitations of intermittent wind and solar. Cheap renewables were favored on the grid last year, which caused coal use to fall as energy demand plummeted amid the economic slowdown. Stimulus measures for utilities, an extension to project commissioning deadlines, and domestic solar manufacturing initiatives also helped to bolster the outlook for renewables. But while the renewable energy industry endured a turbulent 2020, coal remains the dominant player in India’s electricity mix. With power demand expected to triple by 2040 as India’s population continues to achieve upward mobility, fossil fuels are poised to see continued growth even as the clean energy market thrives. India ranks 3rd in renewable energy country attractive index in 2021. The country has set an ambitious target to achieve a capacity of 175 GW worth of renewable energy by the end of 2022, which expands to 450 GW by 2030. This is the world’s largest expansion plan is in renewable energy. India’s installed renewable energy capacity has increased by over two and a half times and stands at more than 141 Giga Watts (including large Hydro), which is about 37 percent of the country’s total capacity (as on 16th June 2021). During the same period, the installed solar energy capacity has increased by over 15 times and stands at 41.09 GW.
Two burning questions for India and the world is that how fast the use of renewables and related clean energy technologies can scale, and to what extent can they mitigate the increase in fossil fuel use. As the second-largest coal-producing and -consuming country on earth and the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, India’s transition from carbon-intensive resources is a critical front in the global climate change fight. Challenges lie ahead, but there may be cause for optimism. As the country grapples with the intertwined issues of air pollution, water scarcity, and energy security, along with energy access and affordability, experts say they’re starting to see a future for India where coal will no longer be king.
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